EU’s Malmstrom assumes U.S. won’t slap autos tariffs during talks

EU’s Malmstrom assumes U.S. won’t slap autos tariffs during talks The Saigon Times Daily European Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom attends a panel discussion at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland June 4, 2018 – PHOTO: REUTERS WASHINGTON (REUTERS) – The European Union’s trade commissioner, Cecilia Malmstrom, said on Tuesday she assumes the United States will not slap auto tariffs on the EU while the two sides are negotiating on trade, even as the Trump administration considers options to shield the U.S. auto industry from imports. Malmstrom told an audience at the German Marshall Fund in Washington that any move by the United States to impose auto tariffs would not apply to the EU due to an agreement in July between President Donald Trump and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker. “We assume that if that (U.S. auto tariffs) were to happen, that would not be for the European Union,” she said. Senior Trump administration officials on Tuesday discussed the U.S. Commerce Department’s draft recommendations on its “Section 232” national security probe into the autos sector, which have been submitted to the White House and are being reviewed by various federal agencies. Two administration officials said no decisions were made at the meeting on Tuesday and no announcement is planned. The contents of the recommendations have not been disclosed. The advancement of Commerce’s autos report, which Trump has said could lead to tariffs on imported cars and parts of up to 25%, was seen as a way to ramp up pressure for… [Read full story]